Friday, May 25, 2007

Moderator Stephanie Brandford and Cheryl Lynn Eaton; Rashida Lewis "Sand Storm") talks about the cover of her book

In February of this year, comics writer Cheryl Lynn Eaton founded The Ormes Society to celebrate and promote the work of black women comics creators and professionals and to reach out to black women comics readers. The Society is named for pioneer Zelda "Jackie" Ormes, currently considered to be the first syndicated African-American woman cartoonist. The Society started with about 13 members but is now 20 strong and growing. As Cheryl Lynn explained in her blog:

Black women are out there creating, but unlike our peers, we have the tendency to create in a vacuum... . How can I have the nerve to be irritated by how sites devoted to black creators are dominated by men and books with superhero themes (and on occasion, "hot" black model threads) if I never add my own contributions? How can I be irked by the fact that none of the members of the sites devoted to women in comics commented on the dearth of brown-skinned girls as characters in the MINX line if I never registered on those boards to make a post about that topic in the first place?

The Ormes Society would be a bit of a stepping stone or gateway. It'd be a place where black female comic creators and fans could (1) find each other (2) share our creations (3) talk about topics that are important to us and (4) gain the courage needed to bring those thoughts and creations to the larger comic reading/creating audience. It would also be a place for editors, fans and fellow creators to find us and share their thoughts about our work and about topics that pertain to black women in comics (both in the pages and behind the scenes).

The above photos are from a May 19 panel at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philly, "Having Our Say: Black Women Discuss Imagery." The discussion was steered by the fantastic Stephanie Brandford, who also moderates the Dwayne McDuffie VHive comics forum under the name mutate20. (Also note Stephanie's awesome "Invisible Universe" T-shirt). The below are some key quotes from my hand-scribbled notes on the panel:

1. So what's the problem?

Stephanie Brandford began the panel by showing a 8-minute series of video clips she had compiled of depictions of black women characters in speculative fiction movies, including Storm (X-Men), Gail (Sin City), Joy (Children of Men), Niobe (Matrix movies), Akasha (Queen of the Damned) and various others. Most of the characters were in minor or supporting roles, with a few exceptions.

Brandford then prefaced her first question by explaining that as someone with an engineering background, she would take a problem-solving approach in her role as moderator. She then asked the panelists to describe what they saw as the problem (with both the relative lack of substantial roles given to black women in both film and comics.):

Rashida Lewis said that black women characters were "too few, and too one-dimensional", adding "We can always use a few more sisters holding things down in comic books.

L.A. Banks referred to the film clips, saying that for the most part "either we died in the first 30 seconds of the flick, or we were in roles that were powerless." Said Banks: "I wanted to have some young heroes that look like my daughter."

Cheryl Lynn Eaton agreed: "It's black women as perpetual sidekick. We need to hear from more women's voices. And it would be nice to see some books geared toward us."

2. Solutions?

RL: "Write to the publishers!"

LAB: Banks strongly agreed. "One letter is considered to be like 100 responses." She emphasized that the bottoms line for publishers and the film industry is money. "You need to understand how this works economically... . The late great Octavia Butler never made the New York Times bestseller list. Vote at the box office!"

CLE: "Speak up with your pen, with your wallet. Write to the messageboards."

3. Root Cause?

SB: "How can creator be encouraged to improve the portrayals of black women?"

RL: "I think I see a movement, our own little Renaissance." She added that "There should be good characters on both ends of the spectrum" (Note: I believe she meant the spectrum of mainstream to independent comics publishing).

LAB: Banks emphasized economics again. She said racism was obviously a huge problem in the industry, but "the economics moves a lot of that stuff out of the way." She also encouraged readers who wanted to support black women creators and characters to buy across genres, from horror and science fiction to comics and mainstream literature, and not just to stick with their favorite genres. "If you don't buy across the board, you won't have [black] mysteries, [black] science fiction. Just urban lit and 'women's fiction.'"

CLE: Eaton addressed creators of all backgrounds with her answer. "When you create, think that no child want to pick up a book and feel that they are less than any other group, no child wants to feel left out." She also commented on the small but significant attempts at diversity being made by mainstream comics publishers. "The comics companies are scared so you see them making little tentative changes... They don't put the effort into them."

She added that when a small attempt at adding characters of color failed to have huge success, publishers often used that as an excuse not to try again. ("Oh, we already tried that.") What was really needed was "characters of all races, all backgrounds. They really have to make the effort and the commitment."

LAB: Banks changed the topic slightly and talked about some of the tactics she has used to make her series of Vampire Huntress novels so successful. She mentioned that while she puts out a new book every six months, she also posts 10-20 page unique "in-between" stories for free on her website and MySpace to keep readers coming back. Her readers send the stories around and tell all their friends, which builds sales for the books when they eventually come out.

4. What would an ideal state look like?

RL: "There should be a gazillion small companies putting out what needs to be said, however they need to get the truth out. When you tell your own truth, people follow."

LAB: In an ideal world "every major publishing house would be giving Anne Rice dollars to people writing speculative fiction." She said that 60% of all paperback sales are romance novels, and that publishers tend to put all the money and promotions and good distribution deals into a few big authors. "They're all putting Danielle Steele in her Rolls Royce. There's a huge pay disparity."

CLE: "Utopia? I'm so used to just fighting for the most minute recognition. Just to walk into a comic book store and see a diverse range."

RL: Talked about how there is often a defensive backlash against comic book creators of color: "When you do start bringing things to the light, people get upset." She said she had gotten a lot of negative reactions to making the main characters in her Sand Storm comic books, which are set in ancient Egypt, black instead of fititng into the "Elizabeth Taylor" white Cleopatra that so many people are comfortable with.

5. Question from the audience: "What can you do as an artist to reverse stereotypes of black women as either video hos or asexual "mama" or "mammy" caricatures?"

RL and LAB both talked about how they had dealt with the sexuality of their characters, trying to avoid stereotypes and create a balance between their characters beauty, intelligence and sexuality--powerful women with moral codes who nonetheless owned their own sexuality.

CLE felt that black women aren't necessarily seen as very sexual in mainstream comics, and that they were often background characters while all kinds of male superheroes fought over white women characters. "You have to fight and say black women ARE desirable, black women are beautiful. [In the mainstream comics] We're like handmaidens to Kitty Pryde and Jean Grey, backdrops to Wonder Woman."

5. Question from the audience: "Who is your favorite character and why?"

RL"White Tiger." [Note: a Latina character in Marvel comics] She also mentioned how much she loved Sigourney Weaver in Aliens.

6. Question from the audience from a white man who wanted to know if there were any special rules or guidelines for a white person depicting characters of color.

The panelists basically agreed that everyone in comics should be encouraged to create smart, sensitive and substantial characters of color, and that while there were no special rules or guidelines it was important to approach such characters respectfully and try to do proper research.

CLE Eaton added: "Fans are going to complain regardless. As long as you've done your research, don't worry about what they say."

7. Question from the audience from a librarian who works with a lot of young black women in the Bronx and wanted to know if there were any particular books she should try to acquire for her library.

The panelists had trouble coming up with books with black women characters appropriate for young girls, basically lamenting the serious lack of such books in comics. CLE suggested that one good choice might be Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, a graphic novel based on Abouet's experience as a teenage girl growing up in the Ivory Coast in the 1970s.

That's all, folks. Don't forget to visit The Ormes Society and Digital Femme for more on this topic.

"Masheka Wood has powers way beyond mortal cartoonists. Get on his bandwagon now before there's no room left!"
-- Keith Knight, creator of The K Chronicles and th(ink)

Bushies are bum-rushing Cheney's secret bunker! "Ex-gays" are quaking in their closets! Abstinence educators are shivering in their shiny silver purity rings! Greedy CEOs are heading for the hills! Brooklyn-based cartoonists Mikhaela Reid and Masheka Wood are on a rampage—and no hypocrite is safe! Slideshow, discussion & signing.

ABOUT THE CARTOONISTS

Mikhaela Reid is a cartoonist for the Metro Times whose works has also appeared in The Guardian, The Villager, Chelsea Now, The Phoenix, Bay Windows, In These Times, Women's eNews, Ms., Funny Times, Campus Progress and Bitch. In 2006, Reid was named one of the Girls in Government/Feministing "Real Hot 100" and was featured in the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art exhibit "She Draws Comics: A Century of Women Cartoonists." Ted Rall calls Reid "an insurgent cartoonist: smart, irrepressible and unpredictable." (www.mikhaela.net)

Masheka Wood grew up in Boston where he was warped by MAD, Night Flights, Garbage Pail Kids and Tex Avery cartoons. His lettering, cartoon and illustration work has appeared on MTV and in The New Standard. Wood's cartoons were featured in a recent exhibit in Jackson State University, "Other Heroes: African American comics creators, characters, and archetypes." He is a 2007 Glyph Comics Award nominee for "rising star". (www.whatmashekadid.com)

Reminder: "Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela" and "Deep Doodle"

Mikhaela and Masheka's Books:

Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela! Cartoons by Mikhaela Reid (Foreword by Ted Rall).Bushies are bum-rushing Cheney’s secret bunker! Ex-gays are quaking in their closets! Abstinence educators are shivering in their shiny silver purity rings! Greedy CEOs are heading for the hills and Minutemen are bolting for the border! Cartoonist Mikhaela Reid is on the rampage—and no hypocrite is safe! Attack features 150 of Reid's greatest cartoon hits, plus rarities, odds, ends and behind-the-scenes commentary! Available June 4 at Lulu.com!

Deep Doodle: Cartoons by Masheka Wood.Masheka Wood takes you deep into the warped, candy-colored recesses of his brain as he tackles a variety of social, political and just plain grody targets. Here are Wood’s “Not Just Knee Deep” cartoons, assorted illustrations and a delicious dose of old-school comics. Prepare to lose your mind—or your lunch! Wood's work has appeared on MTV, The New Standard and Jackson State University’s art exhibit, “Other Heroes: African American comics creators, characters, and archetypes.” He is a 2007 Glyph Comics Award nominee for ‘Rising Star.' Available now at Lulu.com!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

New Toon: The Afterlife Adventures of Jerry Falwell

I thought long and hard about this. But, like Reagan and Strom Thurmond, this dude was just way too evil and hateful to deserve any respect. He spent his life fighting for segregation and the dismantling of public education in favor of fundamentalist religious education, and fighting against gay rights and women's rights. He was a first-class hate spewer. I don't actually believe in ghosts or Hell, but if there were a Hell...

Anyway, everything in this cartoon is true. Yes, Falwell is primarily known as a gay-hater and anti-feminist, but he got his start in pro-segregationist racism (see The Southern Poverty Law Center):

Falwell was plain enough about his views; in 1964, he told a local paper that the Civil Rights Act had been misnamed: "It should be considered civil wrongs rather than civil rights."

Falwell was later forced to change his stance on segregation, but if anything, he became more virulently anti-gay as time went on. One of his main goals was to completely replace the U.S. public school system with private Christian schools. And he did indeed blame 9/11 on feminists, gays, "secularists", and the ACLU (for which he technically apologized, but it hardly seemed sincere).

On May 19, Masheka and I made our second comics-fun-filled trip to the annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. Above are some more of the photos (click on any one for caption info and a slideshow). I'm embarrassed to say that Keith was the only one of us to remember his Cartoonists With Attitude T-shirt. Oops!

I already name-checked and reminisced about most of the fantastic cartoonists we got to hang out with, but I'd like to take a moment to spotlight one you're probably not familiar with, our table buddy, Brooklyn-based cartoonist Ayo (see top photo), who draws the mini-comic "Little Garden." I could try to describe his beautiful linework and wonderfully drawn characters (who tend to be adorable girls with lizard tails and extra eyes and Medusa snake hair) and excellent use of mood and setting and blah de blah, but instead I'm just going to show you:

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The convention was 9 hours long, and I got a bit tired. Thankfully Keith (who not coincidentally, gave a workshop at ECBACC on the business of comics) made a "please buy my comics" sign for me and I sold two books in my sleep. Thanks Keith!

East Coast Black Age of Comics, Part 1: The Glyph Awards

Photos from the Glyph Comics Award Ceremony on May 18, 2007 at Philadelphia's African-American Museum, the kickoff for the 6th Annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. Check out Glyph Awards founder Rich Watson's blog for a full list of nominees and winners and extensive Glyphs coverage. Keith Knight, Kyle Baker and Larry Fuller accepted their awards in person, but one of the highlights was Stagger Lee writer Derek McCulloch accepting one of several awards via speakerphone cellphone (with the help of Prof. William Foster). McCulloch gave a moving speech and joked that he was speaking to us from a bathroom.

My fiancé Masheka Wood was a nominee for Rising Star, and although he didn't win, it "was an honor to be nominated" (and the award went to the amazing Spike, for her strip Templar, Arizona, so hard to be too bummed about it).

Plus we got to present the award for Best Comic Strip to amazing fellow Cartoonist With Attitude Keith Knight, for his strip The K Chronicles (a second-time winner!). Keith took photos of his own butt on the way up to the podium and remarked that it was nice to be at a convention where no one mistook him for Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder. He also later noted that the food at ECBACC (BBQ, meatballs, rice, jerk chicken, fried chicken, and other delights) was far superior to the usual comics convention concessions (typically suspiciously gray hot dogs and burgers).

Kyle Baker, accepting the award for Best Artist, said it was nice to be at a convention where he didn't have people asking "Who's Nat Turner?" He also donned sunglasses as a way, he said, of distinguishing himself from all the other guys with dreadlocks--not typically necessary at your average 95% white comic convention.

Eye Trauma's John Jennings and Damian Duffy (the curators of Other Heroes and Out of Sequence. They're currently working on their stunning science fiction horror graphic novel about racism and consumer culture, The Hole:

Cheryl Lynn, of Digital Femme (and founder of the rapidly expanding Ormes Society for black women cartoonists), who spoke on a fantastic panel called "Having Our Say: Black Women Discuss Imagery." More on that panel when I post the pictures. For now, here's a recent quote from her blog:

What do women want from comics?

The answer isn't important. Here's all you need to know:

No reader wants to be made to feel that he or she is inherently less than a member of another group when he or she picks up a book to enjoy.

Blacks were deliberately left out of comics and American society for many years,” Foster noted. “On those rare occasions when we were included, we were misrepresented as savages, cannibals, simpletons, and worse. My research documents this important history both fair and foul, for all time, while there are still traces of it left.”

Our table buddy, Ayo (more on him in the Saturday post). Ayo was a bit bummed out by his ECBACC sales, but I think that had more to do with our poor choice of table location than anything else--we got there really early and thought it'd be great to be right by the door, but folks walked right past the door to get to the main convention. Oops.

Syndicated cartoonist Jerry Craft (Mama's Boyz), who was the only presenter to open his envelope with a dagger.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Mikhaela makes a cameo in a depressing Ted Rall cartoon

A few weeks ago I had lunch with Ted Rall in Manhattan. We were walking down the sidewalk in the midst of a typical wonky political cartoonist conversation about Iraq or Alberto Gonzales or some such when I suddenly saw a woman lying under a wool blanket in broad sunlight. Our conversation became the Ted Rall cartoon for 5/19. Note: I don't actually have pink hair, but I do have a bright orange jacket.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New Toon: War Marketeers!

The subject of civilian casualties was the source of intense discussion on Wednesday in Brussels when the NATO secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, met with the North Atlantic Council, the top representatives of the coalition. But the conversation was less about how to reduce casualties, according to participants, than about how to explain them to European governments.

And...

“If your mortars are not getting you out, you call in close air support and that will be less precise,” said one senior American official who follows the action in Afghanistan closely. “We know that the Taliban hide in villages. The job that we have not done as well is making it clear to European publics that it’s the Taliban who are exploiting the civilians.”

In other words: we don't need to try harder to avoid killing, torturing and bombing the crap out civilians, we just need to spin it better!

Gay-hater Jerry Falwell dead at 73

Just heard the news. "Moral Majority" founder Falwell took public gay-blaming and gay-bashing to whole new levels of magnitude. I'm so tempted to draw him in Hell wondering where all the gay people are (or maybe he accidentally gets let into Heaven and would rather be in Hell because there are too many gay people around cramping his gaybashing style). Somewhere, Tinky Winky is laughing. From 365gay:

Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority and Liberty University, had a long history of opposing gay rights.
In 1976 he, along with Anita Bryant, led the charge against gay adoption in Florida leading to the most repressive anti-gay adoption law in the US.
Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001 Falwell declared that gays and pro choice advocates were to blame.

Update: Matt Bors is so all over this already, with a little something he calls "Too Soon Comics." Meanwhile I have postponed my decision to draw about Falwell to next week. Me=wimp.

"Masheka Wood has powers way beyond mortal cartoonists. Get on his bandwagon now before there's no room left!"
-- Keith Knight, creator of The K Chronicles and th(ink)

Bushies are bum-rushing Cheney's secret bunker! "Ex-gays" are quaking in their closets! Abstinence educators are shivering in their shiny silver purity rings! Greedy CEOs are heading for the hills! Brooklyn-based cartoonists Mikhaela Reid and Masheka Wood are on a rampage—and no hypocrite is safe! Slideshow, discussion, signing & party. Tasty treats available for purchase from the Bluestockings Cafe!

ABOUT THE CARTOONISTS

Mikhaela Reid's cartoons have appeared in The Guardian, The Villager, Chelsea Now, The Phoenix, Bay Windows, Metro Times, In These Times, Women's eNews, Ms., Funny Times, Campus Progress and Bitch. In 2006, Reid was named one of the Girls in Government/Feministing "Real Hot 100" and was featured in the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art exhibit "She Draws Comics: A Century of Women Cartoonists." Ted Rall calls Reid "an insurgent cartoonist: smart, irrepressible and unpredictable." (www.mikhaela.net)

Masheka Wood grew up in Boston where he was warped by MAD, Night Flights, Garbage Pail Kids and Tex Avery cartoons. His lettering, cartoon and illustration work has appeared on MTV and in The New Standard. Wood's cartoons were featured in a recent exhibit in Jackson State University, "Other Heroes: African American comics creators, characters, and archetypes." He is also a Glyph Award nominee for black cartoonist "rising star". (www.whatmashekadid.com)

Brian McFadden has the scoop on Lou Dobbs...

I watched Lou Dobbs on 60 Minutes the other day, and basically his only defense against charges of taking xenophobia to psychotic levels beyond compare was "I've got a Mexican-American wife!" To which one can only say "Strom Thurmond had a black daughter!"

New Toons: Closet Conservationist, Signs of Spring

I was listening to a debate on the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC over compact fluorescents and I have to say I have them in every room and I like them (and my lower electric bill) just fine. Anyway, the point of this cartoon isn't that individual acts of conservation don't matter, only that voluntary individual conservation isn't enough to stave off global environmental disaster without serious regulation of business and industry. (Stephanie is all over this with her upcoming graphic novel As the World Burns, and Ruben Bolling had a great cartoon about it last week, "Carbon Offsets 'R' Us")

I knew it was finally spring when I squeezed onto a hot, crowded, un-air-conditioned subway car full of scantily clad New Yorkers and unidentifiable odors and promptly stepped into a puddle of gum so warm it had melted. It took me about six blocks of scraping my shoe to extricate myself.
-----

Attention: NYC, I'll be doing a free cartoon slideshow and book launch bash for my first book, Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela! on Tuesday June 12 at Bluestockings and
you are cordially invited.

ATTACK BOOK TOUR | May 19: Philly at Temple U. ; June 9: Detroit at Green Brain Comics; June 12: NYC at Bluestockings. Soon to come: Boston, DC and more!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Mark your calendars: book signings in Detroit (June 9) and New York (June 12)

Attention Detroit/Dearborn-area Mikhaela fans! I'm going to need your help to promote this event and get some word of mouth going, as I do not live in your fine city and am not plugged in to any friendship groups therin. I'll be making up ads and flyers for the Detroit event ASAP and text you can paste into an email.

And NYCers, I still need your help, just not as desperately. I'll have an e-mail you can send around and ads and images as well.

May

Saturday, May 19: Philly: Masheka and I I will be signing and selling books all day at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention at Temple University.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Last night I dreamt I was a secret agent seeking the real headquarters of Fox News

You know you're a political news junkie when... you dream you're a secret agent with super powers hunting down the real headquarters of Fox News in an underwater bunker.

But let me backtrack.

I just woke up from a really weird-ass dream:

In the dream, I was a mild-mannered art preservationist. I was working in a poorly-lit library, poring over old art-history books to get a feel and context for some ancient mural I would be in charge of restoring. I was talking to my new boss, chatting about this and that, when I realized it was lunch time--clearly, that meant it was time to go hunt for the secret headquarters of Fox News!

So I get on some fancypants silver bullet-looking train heading way fast way out of town. There's a lot of suspicious types on the train, but also just regular commuters and family. Unlucky for me the only empty seats are behind two jerks in plain suits. It becomes clear they are jerks when they lean their seats back so far they are practically horizontal, and my knees are completely crushed. I ask them to move the seats up because I'm losing feeling in my legs but instead they repeatedly raise and lower the seat back, essentially punching me in the knees repeatedly.

So I slam the seat up to get out of there, pushing one dude hard into the seat in front of him.

He bites me on the nose.

I start screaming about how I'm going to call the police and he's screaming that he's going to sue me and I get out of the seat and go to the back of the train. All the empty seats are covered in packages, and the large family whose packages these are claims they're waiting for friends to sit there. Typical.

The only other empty seat is next to some sleeping shirtless dude lying halfway over the other seat, so I gingerly sit on the edge of this seat and feel my unfortunate nose--not broken or bleeding, but damn sore.

Suddenly the train stops at some random out of the way town and the plaid suit guys and others get off. I realize I'm starting to run out of lunch break so I decide to get off, take the other train back, and hunt Fox News another day.

But when I hop off the train, there's a big wooden building with barbed wire and cobwebs and the words "Fox News" handpainted in toddler-class hand-lettering, looks like the fake front on a movie set. And the building is empty.

Then my train rushes by on a nearby track and I see everyone else who was looking for Fox News realize they've missed it and start running after it. I run for a bit too, but when I start losing my breath and losing sight of the train, I remember that I can fly.

Unfortunately, the plaid suit guys see me flying, and when I fly over their heads, one of them pushes me, sending me skidding through the air right into the path of an oncoming helicopter.

I manage to dodge the helicopter but then found myself on a bridge in the path of an oncoming train. I jumped away onto the railing but there was some crazy car chase going on with some gangster silver-gray 1930s kind of car coming at me with machine guns blaring, and an airplane coming from another direction...

So I jumped. Into the water. And immediately felt a vise-like grip tighten around my ankles, pulling me down into the dark water.

I thought I was going to drown. But moments later I found myself in an underwater waiting room. Apparently I could breathe underwater. It was a crowded waiting room, with lots of folks in line to hunt down Fox News' secret underwater bunker.

So I took a ticket.

And then I woke up. Yeesh! I can't even escape Rupert Murdoch in my sleep!

Seriously though, I bet I had this dream because I worked as an information graphics journalist for three years at the excellent Wall Street Journal (the news side, not the editorial page, of course!) and was horrified to hear about Murdoch's recent $60-a-share bid for Dow Jones. As for the art preservationist bit, I fell asleep last night reading a book about Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Possible stops along the Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela book mini-tour route...

Too many hats! In addition to being a cartoonist, I'm currently trying to be my own publisher and publicist. Here are some locations that I'm going to try to get to--I don't have definite spaces or dates for any of these events yet, but I'm working on it! I'll announce final dates soon. If you live in any of these cities, I'm going to need help getting publicity, media, attendees to these events once I have firm dates/locations!

May

May 19: Philly: Not an official Mikhaela booksigning/show, but I will be signing and selling books at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention at Masheka's table.

June

Detroit: going to try to set something up the weekend of June 8 if possible.

New York: Not sure when this would be yet... probably a weeknight sometime. This would most likely be a joint event with Masheka.

Portland, OR: This is EXTREMELY tentative!

July

Washington, DC: Not sure of date, but there will likely be a joint event with Cartoonists With Attitude at which I will have books for sale.

Boston or Cambridge, MA: Haven't set a firm date or location yet, but this would be a weekend slideshow/signing event of some type.

August (or maybe July or late September, who knows)

Philly An actual booksigning/show event.

Northampton, MA: Thought this might be a good place to hit, what with all the LGBT comics I do. I'll see what I can do.

Lowell, MA: Hometown! Don't even know if I should try this, but I'll be around Lowell in August quite a bit anyway.

My experience wedding dress shopping with my mom. Sticker shock overload! We went to a store that sold USED and SAMPLE wedding dresses, many of which were stained, torn, worn or needed alterations, but still cost at least $1,200 each. So I got a white lacy 50s-style knee-length cocktail dress for $100 on eBay.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

According to the Beat, Friends of Lulu Award voting will be open to the general public, but apparently nominations are still reserved for board members... Anyway, the Kim Yale Award is for cartoonists whose first book has been published in the last three years, so I qualify thanks to Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela! (coming in June!).

Update: Bummer, I misread the rules! "Publication" doesn't just mean book publication, so I don't qualify after all. Ah well.

Testing new blog look/title--thoughts?

I'm trying to do a redesign of this whole site in preparation for my book launch (which will probably happen sometime in June...) so I'm testing a new look and name for the blog. It used to be "Mikhaela's News Blog", then it became "Boiling Over", but that didn't make much sense unless you knew my comic strip was called "The Boiling Point." So I may just give it the same name as the strip. Thoughts?

My current annoyance is that the image now up top of this blog is awfully large, file-size-wise, and takes time to load. I'm going to work on slicing it up or reducing it somehow.

Also, I'm pondering a switch from Blogger to WordPress. I briefly tried to do the Expression Engine thing a while ago, but I don't have time to code from scratch and there really aren't nearly as many templates and plugins for EE as there are for WordPress, plus WordPress is free.

The New Standard is shutting down tomorrow after 3 1/2 years. TNS was a great and supportive outlet for a lot of cool political cartoonists, including me, Matt Bors, Stephanie McMillan, Keith Knight and David Rees. The archives will remain but there will be no new content.